This Empty Picnic Table Represents One Of The Few Problems In The US Housing Market Todayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/mexican-labor-shortage-holding-back-housing-2013-2/comments
en-usWed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 -0500Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:41:55 -0500Sam Rohttp://www.businessinsider.com/c/511e3aa769beddad4900000eWheezer7Fri, 15 Feb 2013 08:39:51 -0500http://www.businessinsider.com/c/511e3aa769beddad4900000e
Couldn't agree more. No crocodile tears for builders unwilling to pay Americans a decent wage.
The housing market is suffering far too many other problems that don't require hiring people who don't belong here to explain the stagnation. There is a huge demographic issue where baby boomers are looking to down-size coupled with the economic factor of zero (actually negative) job growth, young people living at home and delaying family formation, recent college graduates who will be debt-slaves due to student loans, revised tighter ending standards, and a real oversupply of housing stock left over from the bubble a few years ago. All the factors argue against any rapid growth in the building trades.
Despite the "happy joy-joy" prognostications of the real estate cheerleaders I don't see anything but slow growth in housing for the near-to-medium term.http://www.businessinsider.com/c/511d2cd5eab8eaf53a000003jymkataThu, 14 Feb 2013 13:28:37 -0500http://www.businessinsider.com/c/511d2cd5eab8eaf53a000003
You hit the nail on the head.
The problem with the builders is they don't want to pay the higher costs of hiring American workers. That is why they "insource" from cheap labor countries like Mexico.
This means houses built with American labor will be more expensive, but look at how those increased wages and employment will help the overall economy!
For too long the corporate interests have been focused on cutting labor costs. We've now swung so far in favor of capital over labor that the economy has completely stalled out. If you want to restart growth, you have to start moving the lever back towards labor. This means higher wages so people can actually go out and buy stuff!
Support raising the minimum wage and support builders that use American labor! Remember that one company's expense is another company's revenue.http://www.businessinsider.com/c/511d286c69bedd753700000bMark MurphyThu, 14 Feb 2013 13:09:48 -0500http://www.businessinsider.com/c/511d286c69bedd753700000b
With no disrespect, I can tell you that in Florida, there are many more than a few problems with the housing market. If the thesis is that we need more undocumented aliens to commit federal labor and immigration violations for the sake of the housing market and builders, then some of these builders deserve bankruptcy. Using illegal labor is not a staple of free market capitalism. If these workers have green cards, perhaps some unemployed veterans could use the work -- at a living wage.
Not long ago, the Feds raided the site of a Veterans Admin hospital being built near Orlando -- undocumented workers. This is a Federal contract. I could not differ more with the President. The USA should never reward undocumented workers or aliens and should never encourage their travel to or presence here. We have abundant underutilized talent, made victims of a warped educational bureaucracy. We can dispense with importing workers and do better by the ones that were born Here. Here, not there.http://www.businessinsider.com/c/511d26e5eab8ea0030000003SoCalManThu, 14 Feb 2013 13:03:17 -0500http://www.businessinsider.com/c/511d26e5eab8ea0030000003
This is true, and home quality will be the better for it.
Most of the homes built in the 1990-2008 period in SoCal are utter junk. So many people I know who bought a "new" home in the suburbs has had one problem after another due to shoddy construction. Mostly leaky roofs, windows and plumbing which needs a major overhaul after 5 years.
My last house was built in 1922. Passed inspection with flying colors. Survived countless earthquakes, Santa Ana windstorms, heat, rain, 320+ days of sun a year, you name it. I doubt any of these homes built by cheap illegal labor will last to 2025.